Charity Number: 1186729
## Refugee Community Kitchen
Report and financial statements
For the year period ending 31 December 2024
Doc ID: 757702de3f981391415b7918567b8f1e58f05193
Refugee Community Kitchen Reference and administration information
## **Charity number**
1186729
## **Registered office and operational address**
20 Carnegie House New End London NW3 1JE
## **Trustees**
The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:
Anna Grady Sarah-Elizabeth Gillard Andrea Oliver Deborah Bliss Mary Cecelia Bittner (appointed 05/12/2024)
## **Key management personnel**
Stephanos Stavrinides Paula Gallardo Sam Jones Jane E Macintyre
## **Bankers**
HSBC Bank Plc 1 Centenary Square Birmingham B1 1HQ
## **Independent examiner**
Patrick Morrello ACA Third Sector Accountancy Limited Holyoake House Hanover Street Manchester M60 0AS
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **Preamble**
Refugee Community Kitchen trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the period ended 31 December 2024.
Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.
The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits the charity has brought to those groups of people that it is set up to help. The review also helps the trustees ensure the charity's aims, objectives and activities remain focused on its stated purposes.
The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.
## **Overview and Objectives of Refugee Community Kitchen**
The charity's main activities and who it supports are described below. All its charitable activities focus on relieving food poverty and are undertaken to further Refugee Community Kitchen’s charitable purposes for the public benefit.
In 2024 we served over 264,034 meals- 94,000 meals more than 2023.
Refugee Community Kitchen exists to provide relief for people in need in Calais, Dunkirk and the UK. We aim to provide access to food, services and items which thereby alleviate hunger caused by lack of opportunities or resources or access to sufficient food. Our aim is to operate under our guiding principles making a significant difference to the experience of those we support. These guiding principles are:
- ♡ To always serve good food with respect and dignity ♡
- ♡ To provide culturally sensitive meals throughout all our services ♡
- ♡ To use fresh, nutritious and balanced ingredients ♡
- ♡ For all services to be reliable and sustainable ♡
- ♡ That the organisation continues to evaluate and respond to where there is a need ♡
## **Summary of 2024**
2024 was the deadliest year on record for deaths in the English Channel during Channel crossings as 69 people lost their lives attempting to reach the UK over the course of the year. A third of these deaths were children, including a 4-month-old baby from Iraq who died on 17th October 2024.
In London, 2024 saw a record number of people sleeping rough and in temporary accommodation. In July, August and September, there was an increase of 42% from the same period in 2023 of people considered to be constantly living on the street, a statistic that does not include those who are experiencing hidden homelessness and who do not have a permanent place to live. Additionally, with food price inflation at its highest in 45 years, London saw an increase of people entering food poverty and accessing food banks and hot food services.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
During this year Refugee Community Kitchen worked hard to continue to serve hot nourishing meals in Calais, Dunkirk and London. With the essential support of many dedicated volunteers and supporters, we overcame many challenges and the organisation as a whole served a total of approximately 264,034 meals - 94,000 meals more than 2023. This was approximately 236,502 meals across Calais and in Dunkirk, and 27,533 in London including Camden, Hackney and Brixton.
## **Volunteers**
The dedicated volunteer force continued to make an impressive impact and helped to increase the ability to produce and serve over a quarter of a million meals throughout the year. The time given by these volunteers allows Refugee Community Kitchen to use donors’ money as effectively as possible and ensure that as high a percentage as possible of donated funds is being diverted directly to our service users.
By engaging hundreds of volunteers there has been a significant financial saving of approximately £600k per year on staffing costs (based on national minimum wage). Without their commitment and enthusiasm, the charity would simply not function as a responsive volunteer-led organization and have to move more quickly into a fully waged structure which would impact our output and vision.
In 2024, Refugee Community Kitchen’s Calais volunteer system was composed of a core team of twelve long term volunteers, coordinators and managers, all staying between three months to 1year. This core team was joined by approximately 1000 short term volunteers mainly from the UK, France & Germany.
In London, the core team of twenty long term volunteers, coordinators and managers were joined by 300 new volunteers from the local community, company volunteering and former Calais volunteers.
To create an experienced and reliable volunteer base we worked to fortify our short-term volunteer retention strategies and to grow our long-term volunteer teams with wider core kitchen skills
Please see below the 2024 volunteer registrations and onboardings.
## **Principal Risks**
Our principal risks continue to be the ongoing rise of people in food poverty, fluctuations in volunteer numbers, and the instability of reliable donor streams. Access to grants and funding for NGOs and charities have become more competitive as there are more charitable organisations applying for the same streams.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Principal Risks and challenges faced in 2024
What? Impact Strategies and responses
Critically low funds during July, To preserve a prudent We negotiated and delayed the payments
August Sept 2024 whilst waiting reserve we had to reduce for our overheads.
for incoming grant instalments output and focus on
streamlining services and We put significant focus on fundraising by
fundraising, which impacted outsourcing advice and searching further
our capacity to respond to afield for funding and we analysed our
increasing need for our structure to underpin specific funding.
services.
We ran down & utilised stock, reduced
variety of stock, created stricter
management of stock and delayed bulk
buying and shipping during this period.
We stopped the onboarding of new wages
paid for this period.
We reduced the insurance costs of the
vehicle fleet by removing two vehicles.
We reached out and renewed our
partnership with City Harvest in order to
reduce the cost of buying essential
vegetables and to increase our reliance on
surplus food.
Critically low volunteer numbers Low mental health in the We looked deeply at the schedules and the
in Calais and London. Specifically team and reduced capacity to needs of the people accessing our services.
respond to demand.
long term volunteers coordinators
and managers. We reduced the number of services and
menus.
We forecasted the periods of low
volunteers, i.e. Mondays, summer and other
holiday periods and adjusted our services
accordingly.
We planned and implemented a recruitment
drive.
We opened our accommodation in Calais to
short-term volunteers.
Cost of Living Crisis Increased cost for produce, We increased our use of surplus food
fuel and transport. throughout the projects.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
We strengthened partnerships with
supporting companies in order to access
their surplus bulk stock of essentials
including rice and sustainable packaging.
Increased demand on and
need for our services.
Long-term volunteers leaving, We fundraised for wages, stipends, expenses
needing to be employed in and accommodation costs.
order to make ends meet.
We hired project managers and
coordinators.
Brexit: Restriction of movement for Restricting volunteers who We supported returning volunteers to obtain
UK citizens as well as import and would otherwise have the French long-term volunteering visas.
exports of essential supplies and time and resources to
food. volunteer.
Reduced ability to train team We had to make a complete overhaul to how
and section leads who are we receive and transport large donations
from the UK to France.
essential to the project.
Increased need for French
volunteer visas- which have
an under 25 policy.
Time consuming bureaucracy
around logistics between
France and the UK .
International events Fear amongst our service We adapted services to be more neutral and
impacted our services and users- particularly refugees to attract less unwanted attention with less
volunteer attendance. living in hotel signage and visible logos.
Safety concerns for volunteers and accommodation, but also the
staff members for themselves and threat of right wing groups Staff members and volunteers were to and
family members living in targeted going to Calais to target from work.
areas in the UK. i.e. the Southport refugees. Safety concerns for
stabbing and racially fueled services for the headquarters
violence that followed had a and buildings where we cook
significant impact on the and prepare food in.
organisation.
War and Conflict Reduced financial support International wars and conflicts mean that
from regular donors. our donor base is focussing their time and
support on other, equally important issues.
**----- End of picture text -----**
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **Key objectives**
In addition to our guiding principles and objectives as a charity, in 2024 we aimed to:
- ➢ Identify and respond to increasing needs in the communities we serve.
- ➢ Employ staff in key areas to ensure that we are prepared for growing our services.
- ➢ In Calais we aimed to re-establish our primary focus on delivering hot food services and moving away from time-consuming collaborations around advocacy and communications.
- ➢ Find financial support in order to increase and secure the teams in London and Calais so that they were able to serve as many people as possible.
- ➢ Continue to create systems to improve efficiencies and increase the impact of donations.
- ➢ Improve fundraising efforts by forming a volunteer fundraising team in order to coordinate new and existing sources of funding and to focus on long term financial stability.
- ➢ To secure funding in order to increase remuneration for staff members.
- ➢ Expand the number of trustees in order to bring on greater expertise and to increase awareness of the organisation.
- ➢ Maintain relationships with educational partners in order to provide information and training on the social benefits of nutritional food and of volunteering in the community.
## **Highlight of achievements**
Our main highlight of 2024 is that we continued to sustain our services despite the huge challenges faced. These challenges had a profound effect on the team morale and wellbeing. Our success can be measured in our resilience and dedicated responses to significant challenges, meaning that crucial service continued and thrived throughout the year.
After the Covid 19 pandemic, Refugee Community Kitchen had to change. Since then, we have used our collective experience, and reached out to other professionals in the sector in order to get feedback, reflect and instigate change. In 2024 these efforts and changes took root and made us a more sustainable and manageable organisation. An organisation that can create meaningful connections, creating opportunities of progression and work for the volunteer family and laid firm foundations for the charity moving forward. 2024 feels like it was the final year of recovery from the drastic impact of 2020, and although transformation has been painful at times, we are proud to be where we are now, and we are hopeful and excited for the future.
## **Other achievements to note**
## **General**
- ➢ During 2023 Refugee Community Kitchen became sole owners / shareholders of Foodness CIC
- ➢ Assessed the project and activities in order to identify under-resourced areas and put more structure and support in place to make a more resilient and adaptable team.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
- ➢ Added a new trustee to join the board of five trustees. As she has been involved with Refugee Community Kitchen since 2016 as a volunteer and fundraising coordinator, she brings with her years of being a supporter and now her expertise as an immigration and civil rights lawyer.
- ➢ Restructured our logistics procedure to be in keeping with leaving the EU and restriction of movement of goods and people between the UK and Europe.
- ➢ Expanded the London hub in order to hold donations for London and France.
- ➢ Reviewed anti-racist and solidarity challenges throughout the project.
- ➢ Strengthened our partnerships and logistics in order to receive and move donations of food packaging and rice.
- ➢ Fostered a greater cross-border experience for volunteers between the UK and France.
- ➢ We are proud of our commitment to increasing RCK’s impact on saving surplus food from landfill.. In 2024 we received £63,000 worth of surplus food saving 117 tons from landfill, equalling 28,994 kg of CO2.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
Northern France Project
- ➢ Increased our food support for unaccompanied minors in France and UK by collaborating with Medine des Frontieres - in 2024 we supplied them with over 1200 meals for their unaccompanied Minors support project in Calais.
- ➢ Continued visits from funding groups coming to Calais, France all of whom raise awareness and donation streams from the UK, including Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group (CamCRAG).
- ➢ We renewed our hosting for regular groups of volunteering partnerships with organisations from the UK, Germany, Holland including RefUme & SKUTV.
- ➢ We continued to provide a 5-day per week service at 3 different locations in Northern France, despite a dramatic reduction of long and short term volunteers.
- ➢ Nourished our partnerships with other grassroots organisations including Mobile Refugee Support and Roots in order to continue to safely and effectively deliver food to the mobile, often hidden, populations living in Dunkirk.
- ➢ Hired an entire new management and coordination team in Calais and engaged many new long term volunteers who were committed to volunteering for over 9 months and progressing within the organisation.
## London Project
- ➢ Cooked and served 1390 more meals than in 2023.
- ➢ Increased our storage capacity by clearing out a disused building space in Camden and worked with partners who donated dry storage units and extra fridges and freezers in order to be able to absorb a greater amount of surplus food and in turn making a bigger impact on the London surplus food issue.
- ➢ Partnered with Springboard Youth Academy to provide hot, nutritious and culturally familiar food for young refugees, including unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
- ➢ Increased the number of days per week that we provide hot meals to the Gospel Oak Living Room community project from two days to four.
- ➢ Hosted students from UCL and the University of Idaho completed their Medicine and Lifestyle modules in order to teach them how to recognise people in food poverty and how to approach the topic of nutrition and health to those experiencing food poverty.
- ➢ Expanded company volunteering partnerships and welcomed Aesop, Accenture Sustainability Hub, CFC Underwriting, Veolia, Savills, My Art Broker, Build Hollywood and Unite Students into the kitchen which bolstered volunteer numbers and facilitated an increased meal output.
- ➢ Re-started partnership with CityHarvest in order to bolster our deliveries of high quality ingredients which significantly saved on costs and enabled us to pack more nutrition into our menus.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
- ➢ We attended the We Make Camden summit and contributed to the Food Working Group.
- ➢ Provided food for Cooperation Town’s summer parties, which focussed on bringing the local community together after the riots in summer 2024.
We are also proud to have collaborated and organised partnerships with the following:
- ➢ Camden Council’s food programmes, including the Camden Resilience Fund and Phoenix Court
- ➢ Continued visits from funding groups coming to Calais, France raising awareness and donation streams from the UK, including Cambridge Raising & Giving (CamCRAG) and Church of the Latter Day Saints.
- ➢ Other grassroots organisations throughout Northern France including Medicine Sans Frontiers, the Red Cross, L’Auberge des Migrants, Roots, Utopia56, Refugee Women’s Centre, Project Play, Calais Food Collective, CHIP, HRO and Collective Aid.
- ➢ Organisations in the new Camden building and local Tenant & Residents Associations and council members to identify and support local people with good food, to create community events and to directly support our local communities, including the Gospel Oak Living Room and Cooperation Town.
- ➢ Local and international universities by participating in educational modules.
- ➢ Food surplus partnerships, including The Felix Project, City Harvest, Streetbox, Rookery Farm and local farms and food banks.
- ➢ Local community kitchens including the Somali Community Kitchen and Think & Do in Somers Town, London.
- ➢ SpringBoard Youth Academy who we proudly support with food for their Refugee Youth holiday projects where they support local young refugees with education and support activities to increase their community connections and prospects for inclusion and future employment.
- ➢ Music festivals such as Glastonbury Festival, End of the Road and Beltane Festival maintain our ongoing support of their food waste initiatives and volunteer recruitment.
## **Charity activities and performance**
## Fundraising
We have seen a continuation of the downturn in individual giving which began in 2020. It is now a small trickle as the public personal funds are even lower and more needed at home and what is available is redirected to addressing urgent humanitarian issues abroad.
Refugee Community Kitchen’s co-founders continue to fundraise on top of their primary roles. They are also working to deepen their knowledge of the charity sector, widen their fundraising skills as well as representing the charity, its objectives and core values. In turn, the knowledge and grassroots experience from the founders, brought into fundraising and awareness raising spaces, contributed an informed and expert understanding of what is actually needed to dynamically respond to people in need.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
We also:
- ➢ Engaged two fundraising volunteers
- ➢ Created new fundraising strategies, including widening the type of funding streams traditionally accessed and creating appropriate documentation in order to make the organisation more fundable.
- ➢ Met our goal to sustain the £500k income in this period. We have raised £585,972 and 98% of our overall expenditure has been spent directly on charitable activities.
- ➢ In 2024 we strengthened our partnerships with funding and supportive companies including Accenture Sustainability Hub & Aesop.
## **Volunteers**
To achieve our charitable objectives the organisation operates with a team made up by a majority of volunteers in both the UK and France. These amazing individuals help us to prepare and serve thousands of meals each year to those in need. We pride ourselves in creating a family of volunteers, many of whom return again and again. Most of our volunteers come to us through word of mouth, on the recommendation of their friends and family, local community, as well as in response to our active recruitment through social media. We have also supported service users to volunteer in the London kitchens.
We have seen that through providing thoughtful and accessible volunteering opportunities we have been able to help many skilled and valuable members of the community who had previously been excluded from the workplace after experiencing work related stress, anxiety or physical and mental disabilities. By volunteering in a gentle and supportive, stress free, environment they have made supportive strong connections with other volunteers and local community which has improved their mental health and prospects of re - joining the workforce We have received valued feedback on the positive impact this has made on their lives and the lives of their communities and families.
In order to offer a vast range of volunteering opportunities to a diverse community from many nations, ages, and backgrounds, there is a robust and accessible short term volunteer journey and induction process in place. For long term volunteers, we provide further support through accommodation, payment of reasonable expenses and volunteer visa support to overcome the challenges faced by the restriction of freedom of movement brought in after the UK withdrew from the European Union. These individuals often become co-ordinators and trusted employees, in France and the UK, that are dedicated to the long term success of the organisation.
During 2024, we had an encouraging amount of returning volunteers, of which many became team leads, coordinators and managers. We are hugely proud to be able to support and develop young people into charity sector careers.
During this period, we have had corporate volunteering support from Aesop, CFC Underwriting, Accenture Sustainability Hub, Phoenix Court, Veolia, Savills, My Art Broker, Perret Laver, SR2 Recruitment, Build Hollywood, Capgemini, and Capital & Regional.
Our immense thanks go out to our volunteers for all they have enabled us to achieve.
Organisational Structure/ Management
During 2024 the adjustments we continued and implemented are:
- Increased the recruitment drive for Coordinators and Long term volunteers
- Added another new trustee to join the board of five trustees
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
- In 2024 we expanded our partnerships with food waste initiatives to make an even greater impact on food waste in the UK. The London Project improved its refrigeration and freezer capacity to be able to take on and store properly a greater amount of end-of-life food. We also added extra ventilation to vegetable storage areas to further extend food shelf life. We proudly use waste food from The Felix Project, City Harvest, Rookery Farm, Classing Fresh Foods, festivals and many local businesses, and turn it into hot, healthy , delicious meals.
## **Financial Review**
We have a small but stable group of regular donors who provide much needed continuity of funds. All of the funds we receive are voluntary and although the majority is unrestricted in 2024 we received two restricted funds for the UK only.
Total unrestricted reserves: £302,044 Designated fund: £134,117 **Free reserves: £167,927 Restricted reserves: £10,000**
The designated fund comprises the volunteer residential accommodation purchased in Calais and fixed assets that cannot be easily converted into cash.
Expenditure in the period was £576,363 which was broken down as follows:
Charitable activities: £546,031 (Including Support and governance £49,330) Fundraising: £30,332
This left the organisation with a surplus in the period of £9,609.
## Reserves Policy
The aim of the reserves policy is to ensure that the charity’s ongoing and future activities are reasonably protected from unexpected fluctuations in its income and expenditure. The board reviewed the reserves policy and agreed that a minimum level of unrestricted general funds.
We aim to ensure that we retain 3 months of core running costs. Monthly running costs are estimated to be £40,000 per month at this current time so free reserves held at the year end were £167,927 which covers approximately 4 months of running costs, slightly over our target.
We firmly believe that Refugee Community Kitchen will be acting as a going concern in 12 months, and beyond. At the time of signing the accounts, donations were consistently higher than monthly expenditure. The charity held approximately 4 month’s worth of foodstuffs. Should donations drop, expenditure can be scaled back accordingly.
## Plan for the Future
Having reached greater stability with secured buildings and funding for key staff wages, we have had the space to look at the future and as the need for our work remains clear and on the increase we are looking at how we create funding to sustain this stability. We have seen many aspects of the work improve people's lives: the beneficiaries, the volunteers and the staff. This is something that has given us inspiration to continue the work and the efforts needed to secure the funding. At the same time the organisation is facing greater financial challenges than ever before as many organisations have had their funding cut or taken away completely we are finding it harder and harder to secure reliable and regular grants for our work and services
We expect to need to raise greater levels of income. The provenance of our funding continues to change with higher amounts coming from grants and foundations as well as more funds being restricted for the London project that restricts some aspects of our operations and supports others. As media attention to the plight of refugees,
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
those living on the streets and those in food poverty decreases, and hostility and far right attitudes in Europe increase, we risk an even further reduction in public support of the issues faced by those we support.
The plan for the immediate future is to focus the team and prioritise the organisation to become more fundable with data collection , collaborations with other relevant projects, organisational bodies and to update our knowledge and skills to fundraise.
Therefore, in future years we will be considering the following:
- ➢ Securing funds for a fundraising manager and team
- ➢ Training for fundraising team
- ➢ Restructuring of services and collaborations to make the organisation more fundable
Over the coming year we aim to make as much of an impact on the nutritional health and the overall well being of our regular service users and to reach more people in the neighbouring boroughs and Towns. We will also continue to build on the connections made between the volunteers and community, encouraging training and support for people from all aspects of the community to gain kitchen skills and increase their mental health effectiveness and connection to the homeless and refugee community. Key areas for development include:
- ➢ Increasing services in the community and locations
- ➢ Training volunteers in key kitchen and management skills
- ➢ Focussing on all aspects of fundraising
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
Refugee Community Kitchen is a charitable incorporated organisation, registered as a charity on 4th December 2019 as charity number 1186729.
The appointment of new trustees requires a unanimous agreement by incumbent board members. As such, currently no other body or individual can appoint a trustee to the board. During this period, our second period as a CIO - the trustees remain the same as initially appointed according to the charity commission guidance. Should we find that we are missing any key skills from the group we will endeavour to fill the post with the most suitable candidate having advertised externally and reviewed submissions and nominations in detail.
The trustees of the charity delegate the day-to-day decision making and running of activities to a management committee made up of four senior, experienced leaders. All remuneration decisions are currently made by the board of trustees, taking into careful consideration any conflicts of interest that may exist. The management committee reports regularly to the board of trustees, including detail on finances, any safeguarding or incident reports and performance against objectives. The charitable activities undertaken by the management committee, staff and volunteers has proven incredibly effective and has allowed us to achieve our vision of providing hot, nutritious meals to those in need.
The Management Committee is made up of:
- ➢ Stephanos Stavrinides - Finance & Logistics
- ➢ Paula Gallardo - Human Resources, Administration & Communications
- ➢ Sam Jones - Executive Chef / Catering manager
- ➢ Jane E Macintyre - UK Operations
The charity was established under a memorandum of association, which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its articles of association.
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## **Refugee Community Kitchen Trustees Report for the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **Related Parties**
Foodness CIC has now been fully amalgamated and is a subsidiary of Refugee Community Kitchen. Foodness CIC was established to support the work of Refugee Community Kitchen and sells merchandise to fundraise for Refugee Community Kitchen. All Foodness CIC profits are donated to the charity.
## **Remuneration Policy for Key Management Personnel**
All staff members of Refugee Community Kitchen are paid at least £12.21 per hour. This rate has continued to follow NMW. The only changes made through this period have been to the number of hours worked and to the wages of the London manager's role in keeping with the London Living wage
## **Statement of Responsibilities of the Trustees**
The trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the aims and objectives and in planning future activities and setting policy for the future.
The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- ➢ Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
- ➢ Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
- ➢ Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
- ➢ State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements
- ➢ Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on …………………………. and signed on their behalf by
**Trustee**
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## Refugee Community Kitchen
## Independent examiner’s report to the trustees for the year ended 31 December 2024
I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 as set out on pages 15 to 29.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Charities Act”) and that an independent examination is needed. The charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 and I am qualified to undertake the examination by being a qualified member of ICAEW.
It is my responsibility to:
- examine the accounts under section 145 of the Charities Act,
- to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act, and
- to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of independent examiner’s statement**
My examination was carried out in accordance with general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
## **Other matters**
Your attention is to drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared the accounts (financial statements) in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has been withdrawn.
We understand that this has been done in order for the accounts to provide a true and fair view in accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2015.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that, in any material respect, the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the Charities Act
have not been met; or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Patrick Morrello ACA Third Sector Accountancy Limited Holyoake House Hanover Street Manchester M60 0AS 11 / 09 / 2025
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## Refugee Community Kitchen
## Statement of Financial Activities
## for the year ended 31 December 2024
|Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
513,889
Charitable activities
4
-
Total income
513,889
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
5
30,332
Charitable activities
6
483,948
Total expenditure
514,280
8
(391)
Transfer between funds
-
Net movement in funds for the period
(391)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
302,435
Total funds carried forward
302,044
Net income for the period|Restricted
funds
£
72,083
-
72,083
-
62,083
62,083
10,000
-
10,000
-
10,000|Total funds
2024
£
585,972
-
585,972
30,332
546,031
576,363
9,609
-
9,609
302,435
312,044|_Unrestricted_
_funds_
_£_
_479,320_
_(7,911)_
_471,409_
_31,778_
_542,750_
_574,528_
_(103,119)_
_-_
_(103,119)_
_405,554_
_302,435_|_Restricted_
_funds_
_£_
_11,250_
_-_
_11,250_
_-_
_11,250_
_11,250_
_-_
_-_
_-_
_-_
_-_|_Total funds_
_2023_
_£_
_490,570_
_(7,911)_
_482,659_
_31,778_
_554,000_
_585,778_
_(103,119)_
_-_
_(103,119)_
_405,554_
_302,435_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the period. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
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## Refugee Community Kitchen Charity number 1186729
## Balance sheet as at 31 December 2024
|Note
£
£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
12
134,117
Total fixed assets
134,117
Current assets
Stock
28,930
Debtors
13
26,484
Cash at bank and in hand
182,989
Total current assets
238,403
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due in less than one year
14
(60,476)
Net current assets
177,927
Total assets less current liabilities
312,044
Net assets
312,044
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
15
10,000
Unrestricted income funds
16
302,044
Total charity funds
312,044
2024|_£_
_£_
_151,575_
_151,575_
_27,473_
_14,532_
_119,312_
_161,317_
_(10,457)_
_150,860_
_302,435_
_302,435_
_-_
_302,435_
_302,435_
_2023_|
|---|---|
For the year in question, the charity was entitled to exemption from an audit under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011. The Charity Commission has not ordered an audit to be carried out under Section 146 of Charities Act 2011.
The notes on pages 18 to 29 form part of these accounts.
20 / 08 / 2025 Approved by the trustees on ........................... and signed on their behalf by:
Anna Grady (trustee)
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Refugee Community Kitchen
## Statement of Cash Flows
## for the year ending 31 December 2024
|Note
2024
£
Cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
18
63,677
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
-
63,677
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
119,312
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
182,989
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents in the year|_2023_
_£_
_(58,322)_
_23,408_
_(81,730)_
_201,042_
_119,312_|
|---|---|
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Refugee Community Kitchen
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024
## 1 Accounting policies
The principal accounting policies adopted, judgments and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:
## a Basis of preparation
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019 - (Charities SORP (FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
Refugee Community Kitchen meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.
The financial statements are presented in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and rounded to the nearest £ sterling.
## b Judgments and estimates
Key judgments which the trustees have made which have a significant effect on the accounts include the valuation of fixed assets brought into the accounts during the accounting period.
The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.
## c Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
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Refugee Community Kitchen
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## d Income
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
It was judged to be impractical to measure reliably the value of donated foodstuffs in the accounts during the accounting period. The work required to measure this in a meaningful way would far exceed any benefit and the value of such goods are likely to be immaterial.
## e Interest receivable
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.
## f Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
- Expenditure on charitable activities includes the costs of activities undertaken to further the purposes of the charity.
- Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
## g Operating leases
Operating leases are leases in which the title to the assets, and the risks and rewards of ownership, remain with the lessor. Rental charges are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.
## h Tangible fixed assets
Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives on a straight line basis as follows:
|estimated useful economic lives on a|straight line basis as f|
|---|---|
|Land & buildings|1%|
|Motor vehicles|33%|
|Kitchen equipment|20%|
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Refugee Community Kitchen
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## i Stock
Purchased food is valued at cost. It was judged to be impractical to measure reliably the value of donated foodstuffs in the accounts at the end of the accounting period.
## j Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
## k Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
## l Creditors and provisions
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
## m Financial instruments
The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
## n Pensions
Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution ‘money purchase’ scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 8. There were no outstanding contributions at the year end.
- 2 Legal status of the charity
The charity is a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commisssion in the United Kingdom (England and Wales) and has no share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, the members of the CIO have no liability to contribute to its assets and no personal responsibility for settling its debts and liabilities.
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Refugee Community Kitchen
## Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
|3
Income from donations and legacies
Donations
Grants
Total
4
Income from charitable activities
Other income
Total
5
Cost of raising funds
Advertising
Staff costs
Support and governance|Unrestricted
£
347,067
166,822
513,889
Unrestricted
£
-
-
Unrestricted
£
2,355
20,932
7,045
30,332|Restricted
£
-
72,083
72,083
Restricted
£
-
-
Restricted
£
-
-
-
-|Total 2024
£
347,067
238,905
585,972
Total 2024
£
-
-
2024
£
2,355
20,932
7,045
30,332|Unrestricted
£
_449,320_
_30,000_
_479,320_
_Unrestricted_
_£_
_(7,911)_
_(7,911)_
_Unrestricted_
_£_
_-_
_23,290_
_8,488_
_31,778_|Restricted
£
-
_11,250_
_11,250_
_Restricted_
_£_
_-_
_-_
_Restricted_
_£_
_-_
_-_
_-_
_-_|Total 2023
£
_449,320_
_41,250_
_490,570_
_Total 2023_
_£_
_(7,911)_
_(7,911)_
_Total 2023_
_£_
_-_
_23,290_
_8,488_
_31,778_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Refugee Community Kitchen
## Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## 6 Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities
|Staff costs
Food aid direct costs
Kitchen costs
Transport
Premises costs
Insurance
Repairs & Maintenance
Accommodation
Travel and subsistence
General Expenses
Depreciation Expense
Foreign Currency Gains and Losses
Support and goverance
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure|2024
£
146,571
184,063
10,930
12,837
6,114
12,576
724
80,324
11,210
11,784
17,351
2,217
49,330
546,031
62,083
483,948
546,031|_2023_
_£_
_138,128_
_180,813_
_15,780_
_12,382_
_3,819_
_17,686_
_437_
_57,438_
_9,247_
_35,872_
_24,988_
_7,072_
_50,338_
_554,000_
_11,250_
_542,750_
_554,000_|
|---|---|---|
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Refugee Community Kitchen
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## 7 Analysis of governance and support costs
## Current year
|Support
Staff costs
36,688
Accountancy
2,119
Bank charges
1,711
IT software and Consumables
2,057
42,575
_Comparative year_
_Support_
_Staff costs_
_38,744_
_Accountancy_
_2,870_
_Bank charges_
_1,766_
_IT software and Consumables_
_1,148_
_44,528_
8
Net income for the year
This is stated after charging/(crediting):
Depreciation
Independent Examiner - other fees
Independent examination|Governance
11,450
2,352
-
-
13,802
_Governance_
_12,448_
_1,850_
_-_
_-_
_14,298_
2024
£
17,351
1,510
450|Total 2024
48,138
4,471
1,711
2,057
56,377
_Total 2023_
_51,192_
_4,720_
_1,766_
_1,148_
_58,826_
_2023_
_£_
_24,988_
_1,450_
_400_|
|---|---|---|
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Refugee Community Kitchen
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## 9 Staff costs
Staff costs during the year were as follows:
|Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs|2024
£
160,440
12,124
3,108
175,672|_2023_
_£_
_172,678_
_8,617_
_3,530_
_184,825_|
|---|---|---|
No employee has employee benefits in excess of £60,000.
The average number of staff employed during the period was 9 (2023: 9).
The key management personnel of comprise of the trustees and mangement team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £114,497 (2023: £114,116).
## 10 Trustee remuneration and expenses, and related party transactions
No trustees were reimbursed travel and subsistence expenses during the year (2023: £Nil).
Aggregate donations from related parties were £Nil (2023: £Nil).
No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity, including guarantees, during the period.
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Refugee Community Kitchen
## Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## 11 Corporation tax
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the charity.
## 12 Fixed assets: tangible assets
|Cost
Disposals
At 31 December 2024
Depreciation
Charge for the year
Disposals
At 31 December 2024
Net book value
At 31 December 2024
At 31 December 2023
At 1 January 2024
At 1 January 2024|Land &
Fixtures, fittings
buildings
& equipment
£
123,139
55,642
-
-
123,139
55,642
2,695
35,340
1,231
10,382
-
-
3,926
45,722
119,213
9,920
_120,444_
_20,302_|Motor
vehicles
£
34,490
(800)
33,690
23,661
5,738
(693)
28,706
4,984
_10,829_|£
213,271
(800)
212,471
61,696
17,351
(693)
78,354
134,117
_151,575_
Total|
|---|---|---|---|
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## Refugee Community Kitchen
Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## 13 Debtors
|Value Added Tax
Prepayments and accrued income
14
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Wages payable
Pensions payable
Tax and social security
15
Analysis of movements in restricted funds
Balance at 1
January
2024
Income
£
£
-
12,083
-
10,000
-
50,000
Total
-
72,083
The Balcombe
Charitable Trust
The Hampstead Wells
and Camden Trust
The Prism - Gift Fund|2024
£
322
26,162
26,484
2024
£
2,739
53,550
-
1,230
2,957
60,476
Expenditure
£
(12,083)
-
(50,000)
(62,083)|_2023_
_£_
_330_
_14,202_
_14,532_
_2023_
_£_
_2,844_
_5,600_
_48_
_1,965_
_-_
_10,457_
Transfers
£
-
-
-
-|Balance at 31
December
2024
£
-
10,000
-
10,000|
|---|---|---|---|
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Refugee Community Kitchen
## Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
## Comparative period
|_Total_
_The Balcombe_
_Charitable Trust_|_Balance at 1_
_January_
_2023_
_£_
_-_
_-_|_Income_
_£_
_11,250_
_11,250_|_Expenditure_
_£_
_(11,250)_
_(11,250)_|_Transfers_
_£_
_-_
_-_|_Balance at_
_31 December_
_2023_
_£_
_-_
_-_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name of restricted fund Description, nature and purposes of the fund The Balcombe Charitable Trust To support the work of the charity in the UK and Northern France. The Prism - Gift Fund To support the work of the charity in England and Wales.
16 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds
|Designated fund
General fund|Balance at 1
January
2024
£
149,280
153,155
302,435|Income
£
513,889
-
513,889|Expenditure
£
(514,280)
-
(514,280)|Transfers
£
19,038
(19,038)
-|As at 31
December
2024
£
167,927
134,117
302,044|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Designated funds are funds respresented by fixed asstes therefore not available to defray the operational costs of the charity
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## Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
Comparative period
|_Designated fund_
_General fund_|_Balance at 1_
_January_
_2023_
_£_
_252,399_
_153,155_
_405,554_|_Income_
_£_
_471,409_
_-_
_471,409_|_Expenditure_
_£_
_(574,528)_
_-_
_(574,528)_|_Transfers_
_£_
_-_
_-_
_-_|_As at 31_
_December_
_2023_
_£_
_149,280_
_153,155_
_302,435_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The designated fund represents fund of the charity that are invested in fixed assets and so are not available to defray the operational costs of the charity.
- 17 Analysis of net assets between funds
|Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total
Comparative period
_Tangible fixed assets_
_Net current assets/(liabilities)_
_Total_|General
fund
£
-
167,927
167,927
_General_
_fund_
_£_
_-_
_150,860_
_150,860_|Designated
funds
£
134,117
-
134,117
_Designated_
_funds_
_£_
_151,575_
_-_
_151,575_|Restricted
funds
£
-
10,000
10,000
_Restricted_
_funds_
_£_
_-_
_-_
_-_|Total 2024
£
134,117
177,927
312,044
_Total 2023_
_£_
_151,575_
_150,860_
_302,435_|
|---|---|---|---|---|
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## Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024 (continued)
18 Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities
|Net income/(expenditure) for the period
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charge
Loss on disposals
Decrease/(increase) in stock
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities|2024
£
9,609
17,351
107
(1,457)
(11,952)
50,019
63,677|_2023_
_£_
_(103,119)_
_24,987_
_-_
_12,163_
_4,762_
_2,885_
_(58,322)_|
|---|---|---|
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